Does My Figure look big in this?

[Trooper McFad]

That is superb. I bow to JWare's knowledge on all things WW1 but when I do my figures I only pick up what I can see on the source material and what Mr White has done is Superb. My hats off to the man 👍🏻

What scale is that?

[broodblik]

What scale is that?

[JohnW]

In my head the original Titan covers were done by Ian Gibson and the cover to book 1 defo looks like his work. Book 2 is less clear but I'd say that spiky tree in the background looks very Ian Gibson BUT Barney has them listed as the series artist Joe Colquhoun - but I'm not convinced.

Can anyone confirm either way as I'm dead curious now (and would have had a fiver bet they were Gibson)

I've had that book since 1988 and I'd have sworn up and down it's Colquhoun, only now you've gone and sown the seeds of doubt. I realise that I don't have any examples of Colquhoun's painted style to compare it to. I do maintain though that the military detail (incorrect puttees notwithstanding) is very Colquhoun, and that's a real Colquhoun horse. Spiky trees were also well within the man's compass.
I'm willing to concede that it might not actually be Colquhoun, but it's not Gibson. I can't see a trace of Gibson there. I look at Gibson's Titan covers from that time and there's no similarity.
Am I confident enough to lay a fiver on the matter? A whole fiver? Well now...

[JohnW]

Harping on.
Can't for the life of me find a signature on Book 2, which I'm looking at right now. No info on the copyright page either.


But Book 1 is definitely either Colquhoun or a very clever Colquhoun pastiche. On that I will lay a fiver, sir. Maybe even as much as £5.50.

[Jim_Campbell]

I'd agree that if Book 1 isn't Colquhoun, it's somebody doing a damn fine impersonation, but also that Book 2 has some very un-Colqhoun-ish touches, that tree in particular. There's nothing about it that says Ian Gibson to me, though — the colour work is a lonnnng way from the line-and-wash technique that characterised his other colour work around this time and, other than that tree, the rest of the drawing lacks the angularity of his style. It's a mystery, wrapped in an enigma... &c. :-)

[JohnW]

when I do my figures I only pick up what I can see on the source material and what Mr White has done is Superb. My hats off to the man 👍🏻

And after all my showing off, I see that the book cover has the correct PH gas helmet (although it's the incorrect SBR mask in the story) and that the model is not date-specific, and therefore not incorrect. Also the model's rifle is right and the book cover's is wrong.

I'm just too clever for my own good, me.

I also take my hat off to Mr White and Mr Colquhoun both.

[Trooper McFad]

What scale is that?

Wow that's a lot of intricate work at that scale.
I'm jealous that I can't do such fine details

[Dark Jimbo]

What scale is that?

1/35th.

[lincnash]

I would swear black and blue that the first print of Book 1 did have a Colquhoun signature on one of the bottom corners, those Titan book pics may be slightly cropped.
But I am trying to remember a cover from my juve years decades ago.
:-)

Historical uniform accuracy aside, the model looks bloody great and is a excellent representation of Book 2.

<snip>

I'm just too clever for my own good, me.

In the 1/6 Military customiser/kit-basher circles, you would be known as a 'stitch Nazi' :-0
I'm a bit of a WW1 buff myself and the seeds were probably planted with Battle weekly and Charley's War.
Loved the serial as a kid but could never find the early series issues, mostly Battle from 1979 and 1980.
IIRC Charley began in the number 200 birthday issue.
Bought Titan's Book 1 and 2 to fill the gaps in the early stories I lacked.
Read them back to front many times and later when girls and grog became more important, put them in storage for 20 years.
Just around the time of the newer Volume 1 Hardback release, popped them up on EvilPAy and sold for about 4 times what I paid in the mid-1980's, in the well read but correctly looked after condition.

One of the stupid things I did, was after the large and bulky Battle collection stagnated with no buyers of single issues on E-Balls, cut out all Charley stories, covers and centre spreads and chucked excess Battle collection into paper recycle (2015?).
Geez Action Force sucked and ruined half the comic, stopped collecting in 1988 when Charley initially went WW2 then the series finished with <spoiler alert> Charley's retirement and then restarted from the beginning as reprints.
Shortly after Joe passed away :-(
Still have my collection cut out from Battle, a complete run of Charley's War pages in polybags on the bookshelf.
Will keep those for sentimental reasons.
;-)

[JohnW]

In the 1/6 Military customiser/kit-basher circles, you would be known as a 'stitch Nazi' :-0

To quote a Woody Allen gag: 'I just have the sort of eyes that are set off by a brown shirt'.
(Which is worse these days – having a Nazi tag attached to you or being able to quote Woody Allen?)

Charley's War was one of the most influential works (in any medium) that ever worked its way with me, and it was a great joy when it was reprinted in its entirety, and then reprinted again – only better. I can't stand Mills's commentaries in the reprints, mind. His and my views have diverged widely as the years have passed and I've read more and more books. Anyway – don't get me started. Let me just hand it to the man that he could tell a helluva story in his day, and he could get the most brilliant artists to work with him.

My own Battles were in a rotten state from childhood carelessness and I binned them all ages ago. I kept only one for sentimental value. Girls and grog have come and gone, leaving more bad memories than good, but Charley's War never disappointed or did me harm.

I would very much like to see the WW2 stretch reprinted, as its poor reputation is (I gather) largely down to Pat Mills's hatred for it. The art is Colquhoun being as good as he ever was and the story is just fine for what it was – a standard boys' war comic. The absence of author's lead-footed politics is a bonus, to be honest.

[pauljholden]

Harping on.
Can't for the life of me find a signature on Book 2, which I'm looking at right now. No info on the copyright page either.


But Book 1 is definitely either Colquhoun or a very clever Colquhoun pastiche. On that I will lay a fiver, sir. Maybe even as much as £5.50.

I'd bet a tonne those are both Jim Baikie.

[JohnW]

I'd bet a tonne those are both Jim Baikie.

I don't see any smiley emoji attached to that assertion.

[pauljholden]

I'd bet a tonne those are both Jim Baikie.

I don't see any smiley emoji attached to that assertion.

I'm not joking, the face and colouring all scream Baikie to me!

[pauljholden]

It's the colour sensibility, the quiff of Charlie's hair (and the line work around the face) and the rendering of the horses legs that are all pointing to baikie for me.

[JohnW]

I can't see it, PJ.
Book One: The pattern of earth and grass is pure Colquhoun, as are the poppies, as are the soldiers silhouetted in the background, as is all the incidental detail down to the screw pickets. Even the shading on the bullet-holed helmet on the grave marker is Colquhoun.

Book Two?
The horse's musculature. The general feel of the rider. Colquhoun.
I'm willing to be proven wrong, and I'm too cheap to bet.